Spotlight on Equity: Esperanza Farms

“Esperanza Community Farms, promoting healthy eating and deepening the roots of economic justice in the Pajaro Valley.” – ECF esperanzacommunityfarms.org

We recently spoke with Mireya Gomez-Contreras Co-Lider (co-leader) at Esperanza Community Farms (ECF). She is an activist, farmer, mother, leader, storyteller, and more. Along with Guillermo Lazaro (Co-leader) and the team of diverse community members (Latino/Mexican immigrants, students, activist, community members in Pajaro and Salinas Valleys, and others), they are making a positive impact through their food justice efforts.

The People

ECF members are a unique group of farmers, students, and activists interested in changing the world. With intentions to end world hunger- they start by focusing on the land- on an organic farm; where the natural world is ever-present. ECF members learn from nature and share in the bountiful produce they receive from their labor.

They work at creating a healthy, localized food system based on food sovereignty. Which is the belief that people have a right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods; they believe in working with dignity and stewardship of the environment where they define their own food and agriculture systems. (1)

Click here to learn more about how they began and their vision for this project.

Foundations for Systems Change

They understand the hard truth, that changing the world they live in means changing systems of oppression. This means the foundational work within an organization must reflect the changes they wish to see in their community. ECF members are intentional about how they affect their communities; they are purposeful in their vision of what equity means and how to implement practices with the potential to make it possible and sustainable. They do this
through:

• Language– being deliberate about how they speak, which language they speak, and understanding culture and thinking about how to make their words and ways relatable to diverse groups of individuals. Members choose to speak Spanish, the primary language there.

• Alliances– this includes deciding who to partner with and who not to partner with. They are thoughtful about who they invite into the core team and who is not invited due to alignment and intentions. They value diversity; they bring all members of the community together to talk authentically about their lives and to work together to find solutions to problems they are facing.

• Translation– they are aware of the importance of translating not just language, but also translating cultures. For example, they understood the need to hire a young person to work with the youth from the local high school. When talking to elected officials they have a member on their team with expertise in this area who can speak in that language/culture.

• Determination and Intentional Pacing– they are determined, they plan and work with a sense of urgency and creativity that fuels every decision. For example, they decide which directions to grow in and at what pace. They were intentional about starting small and scaled up slowly and naturally. They have been diligent and patient.

“One of our operating principles is about accepting that the people closest to the problem, know the solution.” -Mireya Gomez-Contreras